| Interviewer:
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Please take a minute to
provide our readers with a brief introduction/background. |
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| Author: |
I work for one of the
ten or so Cisco Training Partners in the US, Chesapeake Network
Solutions. This has provided me the fortunate position of being able
to both teach and consult on a wide variety of networking
technologies. Since joining Chesapeake, I have focused on
switching-related areas. |
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| Interviewer:
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Where are you from?
How--if at all--has your sense of place colored your writing? |
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| Author: |
I grew up in Raleigh,
North Carolina, spent my high-school years in Connecticut, and
returned to North Carolina for college (UNC Chapel Hill). Since then
(10+ years), I have been in the Washington, DC area (with a brief
stint in London, UK). Other than possibly contributing to my overall
sense of weirdness, I don’t think this has had much impact on my
writing. :-) |
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| Interviewer:
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When and why did you begin
writing? When did you first consider yourself a writer? |
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| Author: |
I once had a college
professor who recommended that I pursue a career in writing… I
thought she was nuts! Writing has always seemed like a painful and
extremely slow process for me. However, I’ve learned that I can do
it if I sit down and force myself. I first began thinking of writing
a book when I found myself enjoying writing several long and
detailed network design documents. Although writing “Cisco LAN
Switching” improved my confidence and efficiency significantly,
I’m still not sure I consider myself “a writer.” |
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| Interviewer:
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Who or what has influenced
your writing, and in what way? What books have most influenced your
personal and professional life? |
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| Author: |
One of the first
“heavy duty” networking books I read was “TCP/IP Illustrated,
Volume 1” by Richard Stevens. I couldn’t put it down (in fact, I
read the whole thing cover-to-cover on the beach in Cancun, Mexico!
…yeah, I already know that I’m weird). :-) I love how Stevens
packs so much into every example used in the book – it is so clear
that he didn’t just capture a bunch of traffic and slap a book
together. From a writing perspective, I still think “Inside
AppleTalk” is probably the best-written technical book around. It
does an amazing job of distilling complex concepts down into
language that anyone can understand. By the way, one of the authors
of “Inside AppleTalk” is Alan Oppenheimer, husband of fellow
Cisco Press author Priscilla Oppenheimer (“Top-Down Network
Design”). I should also probably mention Radia Perlman’s
“Interconnections.” Not only is it a great book, I have also
loved learning about and working with the one of its main topics,
the Spanning-Tree Protocol. |
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| Interviewer:
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What is the most romantic
book you've ever read? The scariest? The funniest? |
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| Author: |
Given that the last
fiction I read was a gangster novel called “The Sicilian” by
Mario Puzo about 13 years ago, I guess it would have to qualify for
all three! :-) |
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| Interviewer:
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Who is the target audience
for your book? What should their level of technical knowledge be? |
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| Author: |
Overall, I feel that
“Cisco LAN Switching” should appeal to a wide variety of readers
who are interested in campus switching technology. Given that most
switching technology is fairly new, the book begins with a thorough
discussion of foundational campus switching issues such as Fast and
Gigabit Ethernet, Transparent Bridging, VLANs, and Catalyst
configuration syntax (so beginners will find lots of interesting
material). However, the book is full of advanced switching concepts
never before discussed in print (such as advanced Spanning Tree
configuration and design, and detailed campus design). These
advanced sections cover many of the intricacies and subtleties of
campus technology and should be especially appealing to advanced
readers. |
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| Interviewer:
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How is the book organized? |
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| Author: |
“Cisco LAN
Switching” consists of 18 chapters organized into five sections.
Part I covers foundational issues such as Fast and Gigabit Ethernet,
Token Ring, Transparent and Source-Route Bridging, VLANs, and
Catalyst configuration syntax. Part II consists of a detailed
discussion of the Spanning-Tree Protocol. This section is designed
to be the most detailed coverage of Spanning Tree currently in
print. Part III covers trunking technologies such as ISL, 801.2Q,
EtherChannel, LAN Emulation (LANE), and MPOA. Part IV discusses a
variety of “advanced topics” including Layer 3 switching, the
VLAN Trunking Protocol (VTP), and multicasting in a switched
environment. Part V covers a variety of “real world” switching
issues. The primary focus of this section is campus design where a
wide variety of design techniques and best practices are discussed.
Other topics covered in Part V include troubleshooting, case
studies, and a look at some upcoming Catalyst 6000 features. Every
chapter includes exercises that allow the reader to test their
understanding of the material. Some of the chapters also include
recommended hands-on labs. |
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| Interviewer:
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Tell us how your
background and experience enabled you to write about this topic? |
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| Author: |
Since joining
Chesapeake in early 1997, I have been focused heavily on switching
technology. As one of the first Catalyst instructors outside of
Cisco, I was able to get in “at the ground floor.” This led to
the opportunity to then train Cisco’s SEs on Catalyst switching
technology. Given the increasing demand of Catalyst equipment in the
business world, I was fortunate to also work on several large campus
designs and implementations. |
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| Interviewer:
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What made you decide to
write this extensively on this topic? |
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| Author: |
In short, there was a
huge disconnect: the demand for switching has been growing at an
exponential rate for many years but there have been virtually no
books about the subject. The few existing books on switching that
did exist were superficial and out of date. Therefore, it seemed
that a much more detailed and comprehensive coverage was long
overdue. |
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| Interviewer:
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Can your book be helpful
in preparing for Cisco certification? If so, for which
certifications or exams? |
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| Author: |
Although “Cisco LAN
Switching” is significantly targeted at a people preparing for the
CCIE® exam, we were very intentional about making sure it was not a
simple study guide. The primary focus is on real-world campus issues
and technologies. Also, people preparing for the switching-related
exams (such as CCNA® and BCMSN) will find the information invaluable. |
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| Interviewer:
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What other projects are
you planning? Will we see another book from you? If so when? |
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| Author: |
I’m currently
discussing three other projects with Cisco Press. First, a Volume II
for “Cisco LAN Switching” is a possibility, although one that
probably won’t happen for a while. In the more near term, I’m in
the early stages of working on either a book dedicated to Layer 3
switching or Spanning Tree. The basic idea would be to take narrow
subjects and explore them in greater depth. |
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| Interviewer:
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What did you think of the
writing process? How long did it take you to write your book? |
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| Author: |
I enjoyed the writing
process more than I would have ever imagined. Sure, there were days
where it was absolute torture. However, for the most part, it was
very rewarding. Although most of the writing was completed during a
seven month period, the entire project took almost two years |
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| Interviewer:
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Did you learn anything
from this project? If so what? |
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| Author: |
First, writing books
is hard work! Everyone warned me, but it still took more time than I
would have ever imagined. On the bright side of things, I learned
that writing can actually be a lot of fun. |
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| Interviewer:
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If you were asked about
what is the best way to succeed in the field of networking what
would you say? |
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| Author: |
I feel that success in
the networking industry hinges on two main factors. First, good old
hard work. Some people expect to learn how complex protocols and
products work without ever picking up learning materials in their
“spare time.” People need to go beyond simple configuration
syntax and really learn how networks operate. Although the explosion
in network-related books, websites, and courses has made this
information infinitely more accessible, most people still seem
content with a superficial knowledge. Second, you have to be a
person who loves to learn. Given that the network field is changing
and growing at such a dramatic rate, people need to be obsessed with
obtaining new skills and information. And, if they don’t enjoy it,
it will basically never happen. |
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